“Die Ermittlung” (The Investigation) by Peter Weiss is one of the most dramatic plays I have ever read. There is no “dramatic license” and no manipulation of facts to tell the story. There is no real climax. And no real conclusion. It is difficult to read. The terror moves forward, pulling, dragging and compelling through each page. At times, it left me sick to my stomach. He weaves together the testimonies of 9 witnesses and 18 defendants taken from the Auschwitz trials in Frankfurt in the 1960s to tell the story of Auschwitz from being loaded into cattle cars to be shipped to the camp, through the selection process and the atrocious living conditions and on toward the gas chambers. Death awaited at every point in the journey.
Perhaps what left me most disturbed and most unsettled were the testimonies of the defendants. They stood at the gates of the camps, reeling at the stench of the cargo they were to unload. (Human beings who could barely walk after hours and days of being stacked in a cattle car with no food, no water and no lavatory facilities. The dead were piled to the side, and the living were in shock.) They pointed their guns, and sorted the first round of survivors. They prodded to keep prisoners working. They sorted the sick and the dying. They shot prisoners. They sent them to the gas chamber.
And yet, I couldn’t hate them as I so desperately wanted to. Reading the cold testimonies, I felt a sort of pity. For the first time, I felt a sort of understanding for the Nazi “machine” and an understanding for the perpetrators that defies reason. Defendant 12 summarizes the situation well in Part III of Canto 6 (my translation, punctuation and spacing the same as the original):
Mr. Chairman
I would like to explain something
Every third word in our school time
dealt with those
who were guilty of all
and that must be eradicated
It was hammered into us
that this was the best
for our own people
In the Fuehrer-schools we learned above all
to accept everything silently
When someone asked something else
then it was said
What was done was done according to the law
It helps nothing
that the laws are different today
They said to us
Your job is to learn
You need schooling more than bread
Mr. Chairman
Thinking was taken from us
That was done for us by others
(The accused laugh in agreement)
What happened in Nazi Germany was possible because Hitler had absolute control of the education system. This development was not something which occurred overnight, but instead was the culmination of centuries of centralization. I cannot overemphasize this point. Many speak of Hitler’s education law in reference to the current homeschooling situation in Germany, but that makes it seem as if the minor changes he made to existing law were the result of a totalitarian dictatorship. It also makes it seem distant and unrelated to us. What this annoying headline does not consider is that it was the centralized education system which made the totalitarian dictatorship possible. Yes, he outlawed homeschooling and private schools. But essentially all he did was add the weight of enforcement to a previously existing law and outlaw private schools. The change was not dramatic.
January 27 has marked a day of remembrance in Germany since 1996. It has been an international memorial since 2005, the 60th anniversary of the liberation and the 60th session of the General Assembly of the United Nations. Lilly Jacob was also liberated, after having suffered in Auschwitz and losing her family. In the abandoned barracks of an SS officer (in another concentration camp 100 miles from Auschwitz), she found a photo album which contained pictures of her family and friends. No one knows exactly why it was kept or what it was for. No one is really sure exactly who took the pictures. But it survives as the only photographic evidence of Jews arriving at Auschwitz and documents the entire selection process except the execution itself.
As you look through the 56 pages and 193 photos documenting this horror, think about what it takes for a nation to commit such an atrocity. This is not the vision of a single, evil man, but the culmination of a thousand tiny steps. Many of which were taken “for the good of the nation.”
Related Tags: Holocaust Day, Auscwhitz, education, history, homeschooling
Principled Discovery is a place to stop and discuss news and information related to faith, family and particularly education. Pour yourself a cup of tea and join the conversation! 
Hi Dana, Thanks for stopping by my blog!!!! I am purple belt too, with one stripe and my 9yr old is purple two! We are also part of the Shotokan Federation but affiliated under Funakoshi! We are preparing for the trials and selections for the world cup that is going to be held in London in October this year~~~
Take Care and please by all means pop around again!
Wow! My daughter is hoping for the Cornhusker State Games. She does it through the Y, but her Sensei is really good.
Above all, IMVHO, parents have the duty to give their children many opportunities to think for themselves, to make decisions, and reap the benefits or suffer the consequences, as the case may be. With wise parents nearby, children must be allowed to make small mistakes, so they can learn how to make well formed decisions. That takes a lot of practice!!
Things were different when I was growing up. I was expected to kiss any relative I was told to, whether I wanted to or not. I was expected to mind adults, period. I’m glad children aren’t raised that way any more.
Hi Dana,
I was moved by your post. A horrible atrocity which we must make sure our children understand. I have made that a priority. I have often asked myself how a nation could commit such horrific acts to other human beings and to that I have no answer. Fear, denial? I also think about the bravery of those who took a stand and risked their own lives and families to save the lives of those they could.
Blessings, Hallie
Yes. There are some remarkable stories from the Holocaust of survival, love and courage in the face of such fear.
In fact, I’ll be commenting more on it in February since it is an important month for one of the most well-known resistance groups.
dirty butter,
I agree. I wrote some time ago about my parenting philosophy…”reasoned obedience.”
A child needs to learn obedience and to honor their parents. But that is not the same as the parent taking an authoritarian role. That only prepares the child for an authoritarian state, imho.
He must be taught to listen to instruction, and question what is right.
btw, another interesting play is Hochhuth’s “Stellvertreter” (The Representative).
I prefer the German title…the translation is accurate, but the German evokes the full meaning of the work. It is a compound word meaning basically “one who takes the place of another.” A young catholic priest takes the place of a Jew slated for death. And he cries out against the Church for their silence in the matter. Challenging reading, to say the least.
It is fiction, but incredibly moving. “The Investigation” is also a drama, but the words are taken from the recordings of the Aushwitz trials in Frankfurt.
Wow. Sometimes the facts need no embellishment. I know what you mean about not blaming the soldiers. Throughout history, people have done some awful things in the name of service — of God or country. Imagine those old testament scenes where everyone was wiped out “down to the last woman and child.” That had to be pretty brutal.
Yes, I’m sure it was. And the activities some of these cultures were engaged in (child sacrifice) were not pretty. I’m sure it must have been pretty brutal even before.
I’m glad that the New Testament does not call such judgment down on the earth through the followers of God.
If I understand prophecy correctly, the judgment will come, but not like when the Israelites invaded the Promised Land.
Every knee shall bow, every tongue confess…
It is also interesting to note that perhaps the most famous opposition group to Hitler’s regime were motivated by their Christian worldview…Die Weisse Rose (The White Rose).